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LucasCazorla

Lucas Cazorla, native of Malaga is on the eve of his first match in Gibraltarian football as manager of the Club. He took the reins in early July following the departure of Manolo Sanchez Nuñez following a 3 year stint in charge. He faces the task of gelling a new squad together and putting across his football philosophy. We had a chat with him as he watched the Pepe Reyes Cup match between Lincoln and Europa yesterday evening.

We first asked him about his career as manager and the clubs had been at. He started his career at UD San Pedro followed by a stints at Velez and Zenit Torremolinos. He then took the plunge abroad and signed on at Llanelli in the Welsh Premier League, he was justly proud of having taken the club to second place and into a first ever Europa League campaign in 2006. Returning to Spain for the 2007-08 season he took the job at Polideportivo Ejido and then at Ecija Balompie following their relegation from Spain’s second tier. Returning to his roots he once again managed Velez before joining Gibraltar United.

When asked about the squad he is about to lead into the season he had the following to say; ‘A very committed and professional group of players. There is an excellent cohesion as a group and as individuals. The spirit is great and morale is high with players eager for the challenges to come’. One gets the impression that Lucas values a good team ethic and good intrapersonal relationships.

We talked at length about his football philosophy and it is clear that the man is passionate about the game. He has a reputation for playing a certain brand of football and he described it thus, ‘treating the ball well to occupy, create and exploit spaces in the attacking areas of the pitch.’ He talked about creating a style and philosophy on the pitch that should see exciting matches ahead.

We finally asked him about his goals and objectives for the season and he told us that’ we aspire to everything but we work with our feet firmly planted in the ground, with great humility and with great respect to the opponent and officials always.’ He added he was very excited about the start of the new season and could not wait for kick off on Tuesday evening.

We thank Lucas for his time and also wish him and the lads all the best for the coming season.